Top 10 Horror Movies

Top 10 lists will be a list of 10 movies that will be published once a week and will either have to do with a movie coming out that week or just what I want to do at the time.

In honor of Sinister 2 coming out this weekend, I’ve decided to look at the best horror movies of all time. This is based on the movie’s overall quality, creepiness, and how much it scared me. Keep in mind that horror, like comedy, is one of the most subjective genres out there. These are what I personally found scary. That usually stems from an overwhelming sense of dread and creepiness over cheap jump scares. If things stick with me and screw with me for long periods of time after seeing the movie, then that is what’s scary. Anyway all that being said here is my top 10 horror movies.

10. The Insidious Movies

– These just beat out Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the original Poltergeist. I’m cheating a little using all three but I find most of the first movie, almost all of the second, and about 2/3 of the third movie very scary and definitely worth checking out.

9. The Blair Witch Project

– While dull and boring at times (lots of map looking and walking around in the woods), the movie succeeds at scaring the crap out of you. It’s best element is that it never shows you what is haunting the kids, leaving it open to your imagination. That can be a scary place and more movies should take advantage of that. It also marked a beginning (at least from my prospective) of the found footage genre that has become overused by much worse films.

8. Paranormal Activity

– Speaking of found footage, the first Paranormal Activity pretty much perfected it. While also containing dull parts and plot holes (seriously why are they filming literally everything?), it is genuinely scary. They should have stopped after the first because all of the sequels are terrible. But people are greedy they wanted to expand the mythology and continue they story. It just doesn’t work and none of the sequels compare to the first.

7. Sinister

– I’m a little surprised it didn’t make it higher, because it’s a solid horror film especially of those made recently. It is extremely creepy and has a new and inventive plot that leaves the door open to expand the (admittedly very interesting) mythology greatly.

6. Nightmare of Elm Street

– Not all the sequels are terrible, but I’ll stick with just the first one at this spot because none of them are particularly memorable. The first one, however, is great. It has many haunting scenes and is honestly a bit messed up.

5. The Conjuring

– The best horror movie of recent memory, I’d highly recommend this one. It harkens back to the creepy haunting movies of old (ie. The Amityville Horror, Poltergeist) while being it’s own, very scary, movie.

4. The Sixth Sense

– One of the few good M. Night Shyamalan movies, it is very deserving of a spot on this list. “I see dead people” is a line that resonates with most people and is constantly quoted. The twist ending is also fantastic.

3. Alien

– Anyone who says this isn’t a horror movie is just plain wrong. Yes it is also a sci-fi movie but it’s terrifying. The tagline alone (“In space no one can hear your scream”) is enough to mess with you.

2. The Shining

– Heeeeeeere’s Johnny. The eerie tale of a man’s descent into madness clocks in at number 2. It’s creepy throughout (the blood coming out of the elevator, redrum, the ghost twins, etc.) and Nicholson’s performance is as chilling as it is great.

1. The Exorcist

– This movie is by far the scariest of all time. It is unfortunately not respected enough by today’s ADD, jump scare loving crowd. But it scares me to this day whenever I think about it. If things like the girl’s head turning all the way around, her spider crawling down the stairs, stabbing herself in the groin with a crucifix, or the demon popping up in quick frames before immediately being gone again (I could keep going on and on) don’t haunt you, nothing will. It is the best, and scariest, horror movie ever made.